Lion dance

Lion dance
A Southern Chinese lion dance in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	舞獅
Simplified Chinese	舞狮
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin wǔshī Yue: Cantonese Jyutping mou5si1
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	跳獅 or 弄獅
Transcriptions Southern Min Hokkien POJ thiàu-sai or lāng-sai
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	múa lân / sư tử
Chữ Nôm	𦨂麟 / 獅子
Korean name
Hangul	사자춤
Hanja	獅子춤
Transcriptions Revised Romanization sajachum McCune–Reischauer sajach'um
Japanese name
Kanji	獅子舞
Transcriptions Romanization shishimai
Indonesian name
Indonesian	barongsai

Lion dance (traditional Chinese: 舞獅; simplified Chinese: 舞狮; pinyin: wǔshī) is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New Year and other traditional, cultural and religious festivals. It may also be performed at important occasions such as business opening events, special celebrations or wedding ceremonies, or may be used to honour special guests by the Chinese communities.

The Chinese lion dance is normally operated by two dancers, one of whom manipulates the head while the other manipulates the tail of the lion. It is distinguishable from the dragon dance which is performed by many people who hold the long sinuous body of the dragon on poles. The fundamental movements of the Lion dance can be found in Chinese martial arts^{[citation needed]}, and it is commonly performed to a vigorous drumbeat with gongs and cymbals.

There are two main forms of the Lion dance, the Northern Lion and the Southern Lion. Both forms are commonly found around the world especially in Southeast Asia, the Southern Lion predominates as it was spread by the Chinese diaspora communities who are historically mostly of Southern Chinese origin. Versions of lion dance related to the Chinese lion are also found in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Besides the Chinese-based lion dance, other forms of lion dance also exist in India, Indonesia, and East Africa.